Edmonton entertainment’s all-time top venue
By Lexi McFarlane on October 13, 2023
When you think of places in Edmonton today that have music, good food, and more features like an arcade, the places that come to mind would range from The Midway, or one of the two Rec Room locations. Maybe even River Cree Resort, if you’re expanding the boundaries.
Those are each fantastic venues, but when you expand the list to an all-time ranking, there’s one place in Edmonton lore that stands out from the rest, for so many reasons. Red’s Rec Room, known simply as Red’s or Red’s Edmonton, existed between 1996 and 2006, in a space at West Edmonton Mall that used to be an IKEA store. The minds behind Red’s, Strategic Leisure, were able to use the massive amount of space to create a top-of-the-line entertainment centre that had just about everything you could imagine.
Of course, easily the most popular part of Red’s was the stage area, where several up-and-coming or less-mainstream acts played to more intimate and lively crowds. The list of artists to perform there include No Doubt, Black Eyed Peas, Billy Talent, Metric, and many more. While admittedly not having the greatest sightlines according to some, there’s no question from concert attendees that Red’s more than made up for that in the vibes department.
When not in use, the floor space for the stage patrons turned into extra dining-section space for their in-house eatery. With its 1950’s-diner theme and delicious menu, the restaurant section is another part of Red’s that got remembered well by people who visited.
After getting your fill of food and music, you could then go and take in some bowling in the Red’s Lanes section of the venue. Not only “could”- you still can, as this is the only surviving aspect of Red’s, now operating as Ed’s Bowling. Lazy name change, but one that works given it’s in “West Ed’ “. Granted, Ed’s Bowling has been given facelifts and cosmetic upgrades since its days as part of Red’s, but you can realistically still enter from outside, and for a few fleeting moments, pretend like it’s still 2003.
An upgrade they have made to Ed’s is adding some modern arcade games to the social area, which in theory does add to keeping the spirit of Red’s alive. The arcade at Red’s, however, dwarfed what exists today- an entire room of all the favourites of that era, such as Ghost Squad and Titanic, even Stacker!
If bowling or arcade games weren’t your thing, Red’s also had an entire pool hall with several tables, and additional tables elsewhere in the centre, especially in the aptly named Furnace Room, an 18-and-over smoking-permitted area for social activity and watching live sports. All the Oilers’ playoff runs of the late-90’s and 2000’s, up to and including the 2006 run to the Cup Finals, could be watched from that room. Didn’t want to be in the smoking room, but perhaps still wanted to socialize and enjoy a cold one? The Bandana Cabana lounge was the perfect option for you!
You may be wondering if a modern equivalent exists for Red’s, given the obvious fact that Red’s hasn’t existed in 17 years. Spiritually, there is; The Rec Room does feature many key aspects of Red’s with a modern take, such as a stage, arcade, pool tables and eatery. Quite fittingly, it even has its own 50,000-square-foot footprint at West Edmonton Mall.
Red’s blazed the trail for Rec Room West Ed’, though, and to this day remains an icon of live entertainment in Edmonton. Though it was only around for a decade, Ed’s Bowling aside, its short time was definitely some of the sweetest this city has ever seen.